Brake Squeal When Not Braking

[Davillan]

Hey everyone, this is probably a stupid question. I recently bought a 98 ES300 with 90K on it and supposedly new brakes. The problem is the front brakes produce a low pitch constant squeal when driving(not the kind I remember hearing when the pads are low) and it goes away as soon as the brakes are applied.

Now is it that the front pads need replacing?

or is it common for new brakes (if they're new, I put 500 miles on already),

is a caliper not set correctly?

Also, the manual says you dont need to change the timing belt at 90K if not alot of stop & go driving was done. If thats the case, when should I change it?

Thanks alot,

Davillan

[dcfish]

Hey everyone, this is probably a stupid question.  I recently bought a 98 ES300 with 90K on it and supposedly new brakes. The problem is the front brakes produce a low pitch constant squeal when driving(not the kind I remember hearing when the pads are low) and it goes away as soon as the brakes are applied.

Now is it that the front pads need replacing?

or is it common for new brakes (if they're new, I put 500 miles on already),

is a caliper not set correctly?

Also, the manual says you dont need to change the timing belt at 90K if not alot of stop & go driving was done. If thats the case, when should I change it?

Thanks alot,

Davillan

←

Possibly a seized caliper.

[Toysrme]

I don't think so.

The calipers are self-adjusting. If it's siezed, you will get a constant braking force on that wheel that degrads as the pads wears out. In that case it would have a pull to that side that lessons as the pad wears.

Davillan check the amount of brake wear on the pads. If they look good, take the pads out & apply anti-squeal between the pad shim & the piston face.

[gbhrps]

Davillan,

My wife's last ES (a 97) developed the same symptoms exactly, about 2 years ago. Since I personally had done all of the work on the brakes since new, I dug into the problem myself. The Driver's side front caliper was the culprit. No pulling, but a squeal while driving at slow speeds, that disappeared when the brakes were applied. No uneven brake pad wear, since the problem was addressed shortly after being discovered. I pulled the wheel, diconnected the caliper and pumped the brakes slowly to pop out the piston out and .... discovered a rust ring along one side of the piston, and a matching rust ring inside the caliper bore. I cleaned out all rust with 0000 steel wool and flushed all parts with clean brake fluid, and reinstalled the piston and caliper, and the problem was solved. The piston would move enough to apply the brakes and kill the squeal, but was not releasing sufficiently to remove the pad from the rotor, hence the squeal, but wasn't sticking enough to cause the car to pull to the opposite side when braking. Even though I flushed the entire braking system on the car every 3 years with new fluid, the water still got in. I now bleed the systems on all of my cars every 2 years. I'll bet you have the same situation, that if you get at it soon, can be corrected for very little pain in the wallet. Good luck!

[Davillan]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I will be looking into it this weekend.

gbhrps, it sounds just like my problem. No pulling, the brakes work fine, but a squeal at slower speeds.

I did notice this morning that there is a line in the rotor, like something is being dug into it. Could that be the caliper not releasing? creating a gouge in the rotor?

Davillan

[SKperformance]

Who ever did your brakes did not put brake squeel on the backing of the pads, nothgin else.

Add it and it will stop

[gbhrps]

Davillan,

Without looking at what you are calling a gouge in the rotor, I can't comment on whether the sticking pad caused it or not. What I can tell you is that you should drag your finger nail across the surface of the rotor, on both sides. The rule of thumb is that if your finger nail snags in a groove, the rotor either needs turning or replacing. Your best bet, if you have any doubts, is to let a mechanic you trust suggest the route for you to go. After all, brakes are cheap when compared to an accident, hospital recovery times, and years of regret. Once again...Good Luck!

[ArmyofOne]

Davillan,

            Without looking at what you are calling a gouge in the rotor, I can't comment on whether the sticking pad caused it or not. What I can tell you is that you should drag your finger nail across the surface of the rotor, on both sides. The rule of thumb is that if your finger nail snags in a groove, the rotor either needs turning or replacing. Your best bet, if you have any doubts, is to let a mechanic you trust suggest the route for you to go. After all, brakes are cheap when compared to an accident, hospital recovery times, and years of regret. Once again...Good Luck!

←

If you arent braking and its not pulling, i would check out the wheel bearings. they make a sound like squealing brakes when they go bad sometimes.

HTH